Firearms control device for automatically regulating gas flow



May 29,"1962 R wlLD 3,036,501

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ROLF H` WILD 6"4 Wsw 3,036,561 Patented May 29, 1962 tice The present invention relates to gas operated firearms and in particular deals with a gas control device associated with such rearms.

'In firearms of the gas operated type in which propellant gases are tapped from the barrel and employed to drive va piston which actuates the gun action, it is often desirable to have some means of regulating the energy trans mitted to the piston. This is especially desirable in rearms which are adapted to lire a variety of types of ammunition, each developing widely varying pressure characteristics in the barrel.

Obviously, if no control device is provided to compensate for the varying pressures, the gun must be designed to function with that round of ammunition which develops the least gas pressure energy on the operating piston. However, when tiring rounds which develop high pressure levels, excessive energy is transmitted to the action which tends to increase wear and tear and shortens the life of the iirearm. To avoid this occurrence it is desirable to control the gas energy transmitted to the operating piston in such manner that, essentially, a constant amount of energy is transmitted independent of the type of round being iired.

In `a co-pending application, S.N. 796,087, t'iled February 27, 1959, by Rolf H. Wild and George Dmitrieif, now U.S.A. Patent No. 2,987,967, there is disclosed a control device which is sensitive to pressure and time and which bleeds excessive gases to the atmosphere as soon as a certain value of energy or a sustained impulse has been transmitted to the piston.

The present invention provides a different means for accomplishing a similar purpose by providing a valve embracing an inertia sensitive metering element which controls the admission of gases from the barrel to the gas cylinder. This inertia responsive element is conditioned -by the recoil of the gun prior to the occurrence of gas ow from the barrel to the cylinder. Depending fupon the power of the gun recoil the valve is operative to preset the proper restriction or throttling eect in the gas conduit leading from the barrel to the cylinder before gas begins to ilow.

The recoil movement of a shoulder firearm is dependent jointly upon the power of the round being fired, upon the initial gun recoil movement, at least up to the instant of gas flow from barrel to the cylinder. rPhe time interval of the initial recoil measured from the instant of ring up to the point of gas admission into the cylinder is of the order of 1 to 2 milliseconds and results in a comparatively small displacement of the overall gun. Consequently, the variation in resistance provided by various shooters is a negligible `factor at this early time.

The initial increment of recoil movement can be ernployed to sense `differences in ammunition power `and to condition a gas control device which includes a freely movable element. Thus, different values of initial recoil operate upon the movable element to establish a corresponding number of diiierent relative positions, each position presenting the desired cross-sectional area for gas ow through the valve most suitable for the particular round fired.

A further feature of the invention is the provision of a relatively small, compact valve device operative to insure that the power supplied to the action is substantially uniform in spite of variations in power of propellant charges.

A further feature of the invention is the provision of a gas control device in a gas operated iirearm where the control device is disposed between the iirearms barrel and the gas cylinder.

A further feature of the invention is the provision of an automatic gas control device in a gas operated tirearm including a barrel and an adjacent gas cylinder connected by a bracket where the gas control device is carried by the bracket between the barrel and the cylinder.

A control device embracing certain features of the present invention may comprise -a firearms barrel 7and au adjacent gas cylinder including a working piston, a conduit communicating with the barrel and the cylinder, a valve means disposed in the conduit, said valve means being operative to regulate the ow of gas from the barrel to the cylinder, said valve means having an irregular cross-sectional configuration, said coniiguration being further characterized by the fact that when the valve is in a rst position the conduit between the barrel and the cylinder provides a maximum opening for the passage of gas while when the valve is in a second position there is a minimum opening for the passage of gas, said first and second positions corresponding to the iniluence of light and heavy loads, respectively, upon the inertia of the valve means.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the succeeding specification when read in conjunction with the appended drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a vertical section of a portion of a gas operated firearm with which the principles of the present invention may be associated and showing the control device disposed between the barrel and the gas cylinder;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of FIG. 1 as taken along the line 2 2;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of FIG. 2 as viewed in the plane of line 3-3 showing the control device in the static position with the valve somewhat enlarged for clarity; and

FIG. 4 is a view similar to the illustration of IFIG. 3 showing the operated position of the valve; the solid line position of the valve corresponding to a light load while the dotted line position corresponds to a heavy load.

Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a firearms barrel 10 connected to a gas cylinder 11 by means of a strap or bracket 12. Disposed between the barrel 10 and the cylinder 11 and carried by the bracket 12 is a valve indicated generally by the reference numeral 13 operative to control the ilow of gas from` the barrel to the cylinder through the conduit 14. The valve 13 comprises a metering element 16 in the present invention shown as a spool-shaped body having an undercut or neck portion 17 and is disposed in -a cavity 1S which intersects the conduit 14. The metering element has a generally dumbbell-like shape. The metering element is held in the static or rest position shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 by a suitable coil spring 18. The left end of the spring bears upon a valve flange 19 in turn retained by a counterbore 21 while the right end of the spring is retained by a threaded plug 22.

The gas cylinder 11 carries a working piston 23 formed with a power cavity 24 into which gas is admitted from the barrel 10 through the conduit 14 under the control of the valve 13.

In conventional fashion, the working piston 23 is connected to an operating rod 26 operative to actuate the rearm action in a well known manner.

The operation of the control device occurs in the following fashion:

The metering element 16 is normally disposed in the static position shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The ring of a round will cause the weapon to recoil to the rear while the element 16 by virtue of its inertia will tendto resist motion and remain xed relative to space, i.e., will move forward relative to the firearm. This relative movement depends upon the recoil acceleration of the iirearm which is, in turn, a function of the type of ammunition being red.

The conligur-ation of the neck portion of the element 16 is so designed with respect to the cross-sectional opening of the conduit 14 that upon the occurrence of ring a light load, relative motion between the main body of the firearm and the element 16 operates to develop a maximum opening for the passage of gas from the barrel 1G to the cavity 24 of the working piston through the intersection of the cavity 15 and the conduit 14. This maximum opening, sometimes referred to as the first position of the valve, is shown in solid lines in FIG. 4 wherein the neck 17 of the body is shown centered with respect to the conduit 14.

Correspondingly, upon the ring of a heavy or magnum load in the irearm, the relative motion between the element 16 and the main body of thertlrearm is of a much higher degree with the result that the element moves through ya longer stroke to a point referred to as a second position and designated in dotted lines in FIG. 4. In the second position the neck portion 17 ofthe element 16 is displaced to the right operative to restrict the conduit 14 by providing a minimum opening for the passage of ga to the working cylinder. Y

Obviously, the element 16 may assume a variety of positions between those designated as kfirst and second positions.

yI n effect, then, the control device is operative to linsure a substantially uniform level of kinetic Venergy applied to the working piston 23 wherein the element 16 senses the severity of recoil (a direct function of the power of the load lfired in the weapon) and automatically positions the element with respect to the conduit K14 to admit more or less gas under pressure into the cavity 24 as the power of the propellant dictates.

While the particular coniiguration of the neck portion of element 1'6 represents a preferred design, it is fully 'within the spirit and scope of the invention to design this region of the spool 16 in a variety of ways as considerations of economy and mass production dictate.

What is claimed is:

'In a gas operated yfirearm including a barrel, a gas cylinder communicating with said barrel by a passage, a piston disposed in the cylinder and operatively connected to the ibreech mechanism of the firearm and a bracket member connecting the barreland the cylinder, la control 'device for automatically regulating the gas ow from said barrel to said cylinder, said device comprising a iioating valve element ihaving `a dumbbell-like shape movable in a direction substantially parallel to the axis of the firearm, said element in its entirety being `disposed in a cavity in the bracket member, said cavity intersecting the gas passage,.said element being disposed within that portion of the bracket member which falls between the barre] and the cylinder and having by virtue of its dumbbell shape an irregular cross-section elective to vary the area of the gas passage depending on the longitudinal positionof the valve element.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,482,880k Sefried Sept. 27, 1949 2,807,112 `Garand Sept. 24, 1957 2,895,383 Reed July 21, 1959 

